Our critics recommend...

Baby Mama

The call of motherhood is heard by a successful businesswoman (Tina Fey), but she needs help from a surrogate (Amy Poehler).

Chapter 27

Jared Leto stars as Mark David Chapman in this historical drama about the man who killed John Lennon. Also starring Lindsay Lohan as a Lennon groupie.

Deal

An aging poker legend (Burt Reynolds) takes a hot-shot college kid (Bret Harrison) under his wing until they wind up going head-to-head in a big tournament.

Deception

An accountant steps into trouble when he lets a friend introduce him to an underground sex club. Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams star.

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

The stoner duo go through more adventures after being mistaken for terrorists on their flight to Amsterdam.

Irina Palm

A 50-year-old London widow (Marianne Faithfull) desperate to raise money for her ill grandchild is hired as a "hostess" at an adult club.

Life Before Her Eyes

A woman (Uma Thurman) keeps flashing back to her high school days, when her best friend was killed in a Columbine-like incident. Also starring Evan Rachel Wood, as the same character in the flashbacks.

Priceless

Audrey Tautou (

Amélie

) is a gold-digging con woman who sets up a bartender, mistakenly believing him to be a man of wealth. French with subtitles.

The Visitor

The life of a bored, middle-aged college professor (Richard Jenkins) is changed by the presence of two immigrants who turn out to be living in the New York apartment where he's supposed to stay for a conference.

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

In this historical drama, a young Brazilian boy is inadvertently left on his own in São Paulo's Jewish-Italian section, where he makes new friends amid political turmoil and World Cup excitement. Various languages with subtitles.

Zombie Strippers

The dancers at a small-town strip club are exposed to a dangerous chemical that turns them into zombies.

Reviewed by critics Carrie Rickey (C.R.) and Steven Rea (S.R.). W.S. denotes a wire-service review.

The Band's Visit

An Egyptian army band is beached in the Israeli desert in this low-key charmer, a funny valentine from one adversary to another. 1 hr. 29

PG-13

(discreet sensuality, profanity) -

C.R.

The Counterfeiters

Winner of the 2008 Oscar for foreign language film, this true story of a band of concentration camp prisoners who worked on an SS counterfeiting ring - trading their talents for their lives - is powerful, affecting stuff.

R

(violence, atrocities, profanity, nudity, sex, adult themes) -

S.R.

The Duchess of Langeais

Jacques Rivette's classy, compelling 19th-century period piece about a married tease (Jeanne Balibar) and the poor smitten military man (Guillaume Depardieu) who can't get her out of his head. A Restoration tale of coquetry and compulsion that manages to feel old-fashioned and

coolly modern. 2 hrs. 18

No MPAA rating

(adult themes) -

S.R.

Juno

A 16-year-old girl (sensational Ellen Page) has an unplanned pregnancy and plans to give up the baby for adoption. Improbably endearing comedy about a decidedly unfunny situation. 1 hr. 31

PG-13

(sexual candor, procreative candor, mild profanity) -

C.R.

Praying With Lior

Exceptional portrait of Lior Liebling, a Mount Airy youth born with Down syndrome, as he prepares for his bar mitzvah and acts as an agent of both social and spiritual change. 1 hr. 27

No MPAA rating

(nothing unsuitable for children) -

C.R.

Stop-Loss

Kimberly Peirce's pro-soldier, anti-bureaucrat, war-neutral account of Iraq soldiers redeployed to combat at the end of their tours of duty. Exceptional performances from Ryan Phillippe, Channing Tatum and Abbie Cornish. 2 hrs. 02

R

(combat violence, profanity) -

C.R.

Young@Heart

Fresh from its showing at the Philadelphia Film Festival, this documentary focuses on a senior citizens' choral group that covers rock music from Jimi Hendrix to James Brown. 1 hr. 48

PG

(life and death) -

C.R.

The Forbidden Kingdom **1/2

Martial arts superstars Jackie Chan and Jet Li team up for the first time in this enjoyable, if hardly life-changing Fung Fu fest set in the smog-free days of ancient China. 1 hr. 53

PG-13

(violence, martial arts mayhem, adult themes) -

S.R.

Leatherheads **1/2

George Clooney and Renée Zellweger star in this doggedly retro homage to the breakneck screwball romances of Capra and Sturges. Set in the 1920s, in the early days of professional football, this Clooney-directed lark has its snappy, sassy moments, but not enough of them. 1 hr. 54

PG-13

(boozin' and brawlin', profanity, adult themes) -

S.R.

Nim's Island **1/2

Mildly diverting action/adventure starring Abigail Breslin as a Robin Crusoe living on a desert isle with her marine-biologist father (Gerard Butler). Jodie Foster costars as an agoraphobic novelist. 1 hr. 35

PG

(mild profanity) -

C.R.

Prom Night *

Put a crazed killer and a bunch of teens together on prom night, and you can guess the rest. Just be glad you're not Donna (Brittany Snow). 1 hr. 38

PG-13

(violence and terror, some sexual material, underage drinking and language) -

W.S.

Street Kings ***

A hardboiled rogue-cop drama from

L.A. Confidential's

James Ellroy and

Training Day's

David Ayer. Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker star in this compelling, violent, if flawed and too-familiar tale of crime, corruption and belated honor on the streets of L.A. 1 hr. 45

R

(violence, profanity, drugs, adult themes) -

S.R.

21 ***

A glammed-up, hammed-up version of a real story about a gang of MIT math geniuses who figure out a way to win at blackjack and take the Vegas casinos for millions. Jim Sturgess stars as a Beantown brainiac caught up in the scheme, with Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne and Kevin Spacey. 2 hrs. 03

PG-13

(profanity, violence, adult themes) -

S.R.

Reviewed by critics Wendy Rosenfield (W.R.) and Howard Shapiro (H.S.).

Animal Farm

(Mum Puppettheatre) Are all animals really equal? Find out in this puppetization of George Orwell's classic fable. Preview Tuesday, opens Wednesday.

Bug

(Theater Exile) Pulitzer-winning playwright Tracy Letts' skin-crawling comedy-thriller about two trapped people. Previews Friday-Sunday, opens April 30.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

(Azuka Theatre) Boy becomes girl. Preview Tuesday, opens Wednesday.

Line

(Luna Theater Company) Israel Horovitz's take on the dynamics of standing and waiting. Preview Tuesday, opens Wednesday.

Look Mom, I'm Swell!

(Arden Theatre Company) Tony Braithwaite's one-man improv evening of music, humor and drop-in guests. Opens Thursday.

The Best Man

(University of the Arts) Gore Vidal's account of a tumultuous presidential convention, set in Philadelphia. Through April 30.

Five Women Wearing the Same Dress

(Temple Theatre) Pre-wedding bridesmaid tumult from the creator of

Six Feet Under

. Through Saturday.

Frozen

(InterAct Theatre Company) InterAct's production of Bryony Lavery's examination of child murder, healing and forgiveness is arrogant at its core, though director Whit McLaughlan's work with actor Jeb Kreager as the killer results in an outstanding performance. Through May 4.

- W.R.

Getting Near to Baby

(People's Light & Theatre Company) Adaptation of a Newbery honor book, about children dealing with family trauma. Ends today.

Menopause: The Musical

(Society Hill Playhouse) Long-running, popular show about The Change.

The Odd Couple

(Walnut Street Theatre) Neil Simon's comedy about mismatched roommates, Mr. Slob and Mr. Tidy, is smooth and brisk in a production with two leads who manipulate the characters well. Through next Sunday.

- H.S.

Othello

(Lantern Theater Company) Two titans of Philly theater, Frank X and Peter Pryor, go toe-to-toe in this meaty production of Shakespeare's tale of love and deception. Through May 4.

- W.R.

Pericles

(Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival) The epic late-Shakespeare romance is one of the Bard's lesser plays, but the Shakespeare Festival's sterling production is a major accomplishment. Through May 18.

- H.S.

Picnic

(Montgomery Theatre) William Inge on women and men in the mid-century Midwest. Through May 10.

The Piano Lesson

(Delaware Theatre Company) A muscular version of August Wilson's family drama that falls short of the Arden's recent production but posesses its own strengths. Through next Sunday.

- W.R.

Rag and Bone

(Vagabond Acting Troupe) Noah Haidle's rambling fantasy play about a man who sells hearts to people who want new outlooks on life gets a choopy regional premiere with some fine acting. Through Saturday.

- H.S.

Romeo and Juliet

(Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival) Even with some heavy-handed staging and an excitable Romeo, the production is entertaining, complete with high-spirited swordplay. Through May 17.

- H.S.

Suburban Love Songs

(1812 Productions) This clever, funny, hour-long dance-theater piece - not a word other than the soundtrack of '60s songs - is a house party that celebrates and lacerates the very idea of

groovy

. Through next Sunday at Plays & Players Theatre.

- H.S.

Third

(Philadelphia Theatre Company) Wendy Wasserstein's last play, wherein a liberal professor and her student clash, gets a thoughtful, amusing, first-class production. Ends today.

- H.S.

West Side Story

(New Candlelight Theatre) There's no way to squelch the fire in this musical, though Candlelight's production almost succeeds. Weak direction and over-the-top lighting distract from what ought to be a slam-dunk. Through May 18.

- W.R.

What Would Jesus Buy? *** This documentary on the commercialization of Christmas follows the Rev. Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on their cross-country mission to save the holiday. 1 hr. 30

PG

(adult themes, mild oaths) -

C.R.